Theater News

Robert Cuccioli and More to Star in A Touch of the Poet

Ciarán O’Reilly will direct the new production of the Eugene O’Neill play.

Robert Cuccioli will star in A Touch of the Poet at Irish Repertory Theatre.
Robert Cuccioli will star in A Touch of the Poet at Irish Repertory Theatre.
(© Allison Stock)

Irish Repertory Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team of its new production of Eugene O'Neill's A Touch of the Poet, directed by Ciarán O'Reilly, set to run March 25-May 10 on the Francis J. Greenberger Mainstage, with opening night set for April 5.

Belle Aykroyd (A Christmas Carol), Ciaran Byrne (The Dead, 1904), Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde), Kate Forbes (Sight Unseen), Mary McCann (The Weir), Andy Murray (The Seafarer), David O'Hara (Three Small Irish Masterpieces), Tim Ruddy (The Seafarer), David Sitler (Donnybrook), and John C. Vennema (Linda) will star in the production.

The creative team will include Charlie Corcoran (scenic design), Alejo Vietti (costume design), Michael Gottlieb (lighting design), M. Florian Staab (sound design), Ryan Rumery (original music), and Sven Henry Nelson (props).

"In A Touch of the Poet," according to a press release, "proud and tempestuous Cornelius Melody (Con) owns a run-down inn and tavern near Boston in 1828. Laden with debt, Con clings to his tenuous identity as a landed gentleman and war hero and chastises his wife and daughter for actions that expose the family's humble Irish origins. When his daughter Mary falls in love with a wealthy American guest at their inn, Con's pride drives him to an explosive reckoning with his true place in the New World."